Unbound
by BrokenxTalon
Summary: After a mission gone terribly wrong, Tenten and all of Konoha are forced to come to terms with the concept of loss. Life goes on, they say, and the world keeps spinning, but the ramifications of death are far beyond anyone's control. (WRITTEN BEFORE NARUTO 614, TEMPORARILY DISCONTINUED)
1. Wishes, Wishes

**A/N:** After a mission gone terribly wrong, Tenten and all of Konoha are forced to come to terms with the concept of loss. Life goes on, they say, and the world keeps spinning, but the ramifications of death are far beyond anyone's control.

Hi, guys! This is me being a depressing, horrible person, so... yeah. I apologize for that in advance. Please enjoy and leave a review! It would mean a lot. Thanks!

**Unbound  
**Written by BrokenxTalon  
May 11, 2012  
Chapter One: Wishes, Wishes  
"_I'll leave the door on the latch if you ever come back  
__If you ever come back  
__There'll be a light in the hall and the key under the mat if you ever come back  
__There'll be a smile on my face and the kettle on  
__And it'll be just like you were never gone  
__There'll be a light in the hall and the key under the mat if you ever come back  
__If you ever come back."  
— _If You Ever Come Back, The Script

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

The mission had been simple enough: Stop the rogue cloud ninja and re-retrieve the documents stolen from Tsunade's office. This was supposed to be _simple. _This was nothing like fighting in a war or battling the Akatsuki. No. This mission was expected to be fairly _easy. _

But as Tenten seized one of the men in chains and turned towards Neji, she realized that something was very wrong. Her beloved teammate was on his hands and knees, and after looking a bit harder, she could see that his eyes were distant and glazed. As the other cloud ninja approached him, he twisted his body and sent them tumbling backwards. Just a second later, however, he collapsed onto his back. There was something terribly wrong with him, and she could sense it.

"Neji!"

Before the concern in her voice could even possibly reach him, someone struck Tenten hard in the side. She flew backwards into the trunk of a tree, her head and back colliding with an excruciating _thunk. _She gritted her teeth together and moaned, placing her hand to the back of her head to try and supress the dull ache. Her blurry vision attempted to focus, and when she glanced up, Tenten came face-to-face with the man she had just bound.

The gritty-looking guy managed a malicious grin, shaking some sort of vile in her face. "Should we drug you just like we drugged your little Hyuuga friend over there?"

Tenten knitted her eyebrows together, glaring daggers at the man. Now Neji's weakened state made sense.

"What did you do to him?" she snarled, pulling a kunai from her pouch.

The rogue ninja only snickered, cocking his head slightly. "Let's just say your teammate has a very prestigious gift that our old village would _love _to take as their own. "

In her anger, Tenten thrust the dagger at the man and jumped back on her feet. He countered her attack with a knife of his own and prepared to throw it back at her. He never got the chance, however, because Lee came to the rescue with a powerful kick. The rogue slid hundreds of feet away from them, recoiling from the violent hit to his ribcage.

"Tenten, are you alright?"

Swallowing the hard lump in her throat, Tenten nodded. "Thanks, Lee…" she whispered. "But Neji—"

"—GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

The sound of her sensei's strained, enraged voice pulled both Tenten and Lee away from the scene. She looked in Gai's direction, and all at once, her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. In the open field, Gai was fighting off four or five different rogues, and struggling hopelessly behind him… was Neji.

Lee was the first to react. He yelped, "No!" and rushed over to help their old sensei. Tenten had to take a quick moment to put her shock aside, but it wasn't long before she reached them too. She did not bother with the enemies, though; as Lee and Gai dealt with them, her attention went directly to her teammate.

She had never seen Neji like this. Even after his near-death experience on the retrieval mission, he had never been this bad. Neji's body was having a seizure. His hands were pushed against his temples while his body curved backwards and snapped forward. He moaned in absolute agony. He bent in ways Tenten hadn't thought possible. She was afraid to touch him; she could feel a fierce fever radiating off of his body.

Neji's eyes were shut tightly, but the skin around them was terribly scarred and scratched. Had they really attempted to scratch out his eyes? Is that why his body was acting wildly out of his control? Was his curse mark…? _No. _

"N—_Neji…_" Tenten stuttered, holding out a shaking hand towards him. Her heart thumped painfully against her chest, and her eyes burned. Neji was her rock—her knight in shining armour, though she had never admitted it; to see him suffering so defenselessly was unbearable for her. She felt her throat tighten and her eyes burn. His curse mark was tearing his mind apart, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Neji, _please_…" she pleaded, finally finding the courage to touch his arm. "You can't do this to me."

At her very touch, Neji's entire body jerked away. He groaned, turned onto his side, and cried out as his back snapped forward. Tenten pulled away immediately.

"HELP!" she cried. "SOMEBODY, PLEASE!"

A moment passed slowly, then her other teammates were at her side. Lee consoled her by rubbing her back gently, but she couldn't take her eyes away as Gai went to Neji's aid.

"Uh…! _UGH._"

"Shhh… Neji. It's okay. I'm here. You're gonna be okay."

Tenten curled forward at Neji's cries, unable to stand the amount of pain he was very clearly in. She couldn't stop the tears from sliding down her cheeks. She couldn't explain it, but she _knew _it was bad. She had known him nearly all her life, and Neji had never been in so much agony before. It was mind-blowing.

Gai removed Neji's headband, and there was his curse mark—glowing acid green. Tenten had been right. When the rogues had attempted to take his eyes, his mark had reacted the way it should of: destroying Neji and sealing his chakra to protect the Hyuuga secrets. It was the most horrible fate Tenten had ever heard of in her entire life.

Neji's movements were slowing now. He rested on his back, his fingers hopelessly tearing at the grass below him. His spine curled backwards, and his eyes opened slightly; they were totally white and still very distant. Neji's curse mark did not deactivate; in fact, the mark itself seemed to be fading.

"Gai-sensei, please," begged Lee, seeming almost as desperate as Tenten. "We must get Neji to a hospital."

Tenten looked to Gai for a response, but he did not move from his spot. Below him, Neji continued to twist and turn.

"Didn't you hear us?" Tenten hollered, coming to her feet. The tears started coming faster. "Neji… he… he needs _help_."

Again, Gai seemed to ignore them. Instead of making any attempt to bring Neji back to Konoha, he leaned in slightly and brushed his fingers through his former student's hair. Neji eased significantly, but Gai withheld an incredibly saddened expression. Her old sensei seemed to have aged twenty years.

"_Gai—_"

"—We must—"

"—_Please." _

The next few agonizing moments passed slowly. Tenten and Lee eventually took to each holding one of Neji's hands. Their suffering friend let out one last whine.

"Shhhh…" Gai managed in a small voice. "It's okay now, Neji."

* * *

Tenten sighed gently as a cool breeze fell over her. It was the most beautiful spring day. The rose petals fluttered over her, drifting just above the bright green grass. The sky was blue, and the sunshine was warm; her skin felt _so _nice. Then, of course, there was the matter of the person lying beside her. She just wanted to lie there forever with his fingers laced between hers.

"Isn't this relaxing, Neji?"

She looked in his direction. Neji cracked open an eye and turned in to her, smiling. He gave her a small chuckle and glanced up at the sky. Tenten couldn't stop herself from smiling at him in that moment. Like so many times before, though more sincere than ever, she couldn't take her eyes away from him. He was perfect, he was everything she could ever ask for, and he was hers. Him… Neji: unmarked and free.

Tenten giggled slightly, sliding closer to him. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said, nuzzling into his shoulder. "It must be so wonderful to be rid of that horrible curse mark forever."

Neji smirked, readjusting his grip on her hand. "Un-caged and unbound for eternity," he replied, his large white eyes still fixated on the picturesque sky.

Tenten nodded, following his gaze to the clouds. They had been so lucky after that mission. They got Neji back to the village in time, where his uncle Hiashi deactivated the mark. He was in the hospital for a day or so after that, but more importantly, his curse mark had thought it had done its job and vanished. For once, something great came out of something terrible. Because of the despondent dispositions of her teammates and the heavy atmosphere that day, Tenten had thought for sure that Neji was going to die. She made a promise that she would never allow him to suffer like that again.

"Neji… I love you."

A faint blush grew over her cheeks at those words, and in that moment, Tenten felt a great deal like Hinata. Neji laughed, gripped her hand tightly for a moment, and finally turned to her.

"I know," he said, and he leaned in to kiss her forehead gently.

She smiled. Of course he knew; she had told him every second of every day since they had returned. And she did not need Neji to say it back, because she knew too. They were lying there together, their fingers intertwined, and nothing could ruin that for them. This was perfect.

"I was so afraid that I would lose you, Neji…" she admitted, bowing her head slightly. "I would have never been able to tell you how I really felt. Can you imagine that? We're nineteen, and I've known you for almost all our lives! It took us so long just to admit it to each other. I should have told you after the retrieval mission."

Tenten considered her words and turned sharply towards Neji. "Geez, Neji, don't you think two near-death experiences are enough?"

He shook his head, still smirking. "I consider myself lucky. We are ninja after all, and many of us die everyday," he explained, and Tenten shrugged her shoulders. "And as for the retrieval mission, as I recall, we were only thirteen. A little young to be confessing your love to someone, don't you think?"

"No," Tenten responded instantly, shaking her head too. "I don't think so. Not always."

Neji chuckled under his breath and looked back at the sky. "Of course you would think that, Tenten. You and your fairy tale fantasies."

She grinned widely, turning onto her side. "How can you blame me?" she asked. "In a world like this, it's good to fantasize a little, don't you think?"

There was a brief silence between them before Neji answered. "Yes, I suppose," he said. "So long as it doesn't completely take you away from living your life."

Tenten elbowed him gently. Even in the brightest of times, Neji could always pick out something negative. His personality contrasted hers so perfectly; it was like they were two pieces of a puzzle. They had radical differences, but there were times when it seemed like they were all each other had. Nobody quite understood Tenten like Neji did, and with people like Gai and Lee on your team, it was good to have that. She considered herself incredibly lucky.

Clutching onto Neji's sleeve, she shook him slightly. He was her soul mate, she knew it, and the very thought made her extremely excited. "Think of all that we can do now, Neji. We can _live _together _freely. _We can go out on _dates _and spend romantic evenings alone! We can… we can even sleep together!"

But despite the undeniable enthusiasm in Tenten's voice, Neji did not share her excitement; he didn't even look at her. He maintained his slight smirk, continuing to stare endlessly at the sky.

"That would be nice…" was all he said.

Tenten scoffed and sat straight up. "_Would _be? Neji, I don't want to wait anymore. It _will _be. Let's start now! Let's go out to dinner or something! Come on!"

She clutched Neji's arm and pulled him up so that they were both standing. She was determined to keep pulling him too… until she saw his face. Her grin faded away into a grimace. Neji looked unbearably sad, which was not like him. His eyebrows were narrowed, and he was frowning.

"Neji… what's wrong?" she mumbled, gripping his hand hard.

He did not cringe or change his expression, and that greatly worried her.

"I'm sorry, Tenten," he whispered back. "I wish I could."

An inexplicable feeling of grief and misery fell over Tenten in that moment. She could not explain it, but she suddenly felt very worried that Neji was leaving forever. She reached out to touch him—to keep him close to her forevermore—but when she swiped her hand, she missed him entirely. Neji hadn't even moved an inch.

In a agonized, strained voice, Tenten whispered, "_Why_?"

Neji reached up, not to touch her, but to remove his headband. It clattered to the ground, and suddenly, Tenten was looking at his unmarked forehead.

"Because I died, Tenten."

Those words sunk in faster than expected, and within a couple seconds, Tenten's body had given out on her. She released a horrific groan and collapsed, not sure how to handle the anguish beating down on her body. He was gone, _gone. _Neji Hyuuga had died, and he had disappeared forever. She would never see him _again. _

"Oh… god… why…" she managed in between sobs. The tears came pouring down her cheeks, and there was nothing she could do to stop it all from happening. This pain was insufferable. "Neji… _Neji. _Please come back!"

But Neji was already gone, and she was alone. The beautiful spring day was gone and replaced by pitch darkness. All she could feel between the guilt and the pain were the soft sheets of her bed, and her body was hopelessly clutching what must have been one of her pillows. Even once she realized that she was lying in her room—waking up from a dream—she couldn't let him go. She shut her eyes tighter, silently begging Neji to come back… but he didn't… and the tears couldn't stop falling.

Eventually, she opened her eyes. The blurry, but familiar, environment of her house started to sink in. She had never hated the sight of her own room so much. There was nothing she hated more than reality in that moment; it felt like a cage that she so desperately wanted to escape. Was this how Neji had felt for all those years? A bird with his wings clipped and the cage locked? Even after Naruto had knocked some sense into him, had he still felt bound by the death wish on his forehead?

For what seemed like the longest time, Tenten sat up in her bed and didn't move. The tears continued to drip down her cheeks, but she was lost in thought. It had all been a dream; what happened to Neji was entirely different from what she had dreamt. In reality, there was nothing they could have done for him. The curse mark had taken a quick toll on his brain, and they had been miles and _miles _away from civilization. Trying to bring Neji to safety would have only caused him to suffer further.

Neji's final moments had not been good. She kneeled over him, holding his hand desperately while he struggled and twisted—subconsciously trying to get rid of the horrible pain. She wondered if he even knew they were there with him. She wondered if he had even been there consciously.

A knock on the door ripped Tenten out of her thoughts. She jumped out of bed, turned away from the door and wiped viciously at her eyes. She didn't want anybody to see her this torn up. She was a _ninja. _Ninjas didn't cry.

"Tenten?"

She held her breath, pausing as the familiar voice sank into her head.

"Yes. Come in, Lee."

The door opened slowly, and suddenly, the atmosphere was twice as thick with grief as it had originally been. She placed her hands on the frame of her window, trying to distract herself with the stormy weather outside. Lee approached her quietly.

"Are you…?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. How are you?"

Again, there was a moment of terribly awkward silence. She heard Lee shuffle behind her, and she wondered what he was thinking. She was trying her absolute best to hide the misery in her voice, but Tenten could hear it herself.

"I…" Lee started, but then he sighed. "To be completely honest with you, Tenten, I am not so good."

He seemed to stop and wait for Tenten to say something, but her throat was tightening up; she couldn't say anything.

"I just… cannot believe that the funeral we are going to be attending is for—"

She cringed as Lee's voice hitched. Sure, Neji had always been her rock, but that didn't mean that Lee hadn't been as well. Her teammates—her boys; they were the ones who she had always built her strength off of. Now that Neji was gone and Lee was shattered at the loss of his best friend, Tenten wasn't sure that she could ever be truly strong again.

Suddenly, Lee's hand was on her shoulder. "I am so sorry."

The tears were heavy in her eyes, and two even managed to slide down.

"What are you sorry for?" she whispered, her voice breaking.

"I… am not sure," he said quietly. "I just am."

Without warning, Lee pulled Tenten into a hug, and as soon as her head met his shoulder, she completely broke down. Lee stood there, supporting both Tenten and himself, and did not say a word. He rubbed her back soothingly, holding her so that she could pull away when she wanted to.

Tenten wanted to fall into a million pieces and never get back up again. It had been three days, and she still couldn't believe this was actually happening; it couldn't be. She had never gotten the chance to tell Neji how she felt. She had never even gotten the chance to say goodbye. It had all happened so fast. It was just a _simple mission. _

Her words from her dream still rang in her head.

'_It must be so wonderful to be rid of that horrible curse mark forever.'_

Her heart sank. Neji's curse mark _was _gone… but so was he.

'_Un-caged and unbound for eternity.'_

Eternity. Forever.

**CHAPTER 1 END.**

_Chapter 2 coming soon._


	2. That Was Then

**A/N: I apologize for the long wait, but here's chapter two!**

**Chapter 2: **She was not prepared when her father told her that Neji had died. She wasn't ready for him to die yet. It wasn't his time.

**Unbound  
**Written by BrokenxTalon  
May 12, 2012  
Chapter 2: That Was Then  
"_I'm so tired of being here  
__Suppressed by all my childish fears  
__And if you have to leave  
__I wish that you would just leave  
_'_Cause your presence still lingers here  
__And it won't leave me alone."  
_— Evanescence

Somewhere, hidden deep within the compounds of the Hyuuga household, there is a picture of her family. In the photo, Hinata is seated on her father's lap, while her cousin, Neji, is seated on her uncle's lap. The Hyuuga elder, both she and Neji's grandfather, is standing in the back with a hand on each son's shoulder. What Hinata likes about that photo, though, is the sincere and carefree smile on Neji's face. He couldn't have been more than three or four.

Looking at the current family photo made Hinata want to search the old one out. The current photo—placed carefully on her desk—was significantly different. Uncle Hizashi was gone, of course, and it is just a picture of herself, Hanabi, Neji, and her father, Hiashi. Neji is smiling in this picture too, but it has faded. Comparing the two photos, any person could look at Neji and tell he'd lived a life full of energy-draining hardships. Hinata hated to see her cousin that way.

Of course, Neji is more than her cousin. Their fathers are twins; they shared identical DNA, which meant that Neji is biologically more like her half-brother. The nitty-gritty details didn't really matter, though, because she, Hanabi, and Neji had always referred to each other as brother and sister anyway. Still… it made it seem so incredibly unfair that Neji had been burdened with the curse seal.

The bedroom seemed painfully silent. The only noise came from the shaky breathing of her younger sister, who was lying on the bed and facing the wall. Hinata felt badly that she could not comfort her further; she wanted to apologize for not being strong enough. While her baby sister wept, tears were close to making their way down Hinata's cheeks as well.

Neji was gone.

Somehow, it did not seem possible. Other than her father, Neji was the strongest Hyuuga in the clan. He was not particularly brawny or the picture of perfect health; he had had his share of sickness, and he had plenty of memorable scars. Nevertheless, he was powerful, and his potential had always been seemingly limitless. Hinata had always thought that Neji would be the one, despite his curse mark, to someday lead the clan.

She was not prepared when her father told her that Neji had died. She wasn't ready for him to die yet. It wasn't his time.

"I can't do it…" Hanabi whispered from behind her in a dull, dry voice. "I _can't._"

Hinata reached back and held her sister's hand tightly. She did not blame her; she didn't want to go either. However, unlike Hanabi, the realness of the situation had not truly sunk in yet. She could not imagine Neji being dead. Without Neji there, so many things would be wrong: Team Gai, the Konoha 11, the Hyuuga Clan, and their family…. He _had _to be there.

And yet, it was true.

'_I'm afraid I have some very bad news.'_

The hitch in Hiashi's voice should have told her everything.

'_No….'_

'_Neji… he…'_

'_Please, father, no. No!'_

'_I… it was a freak thing. Nobody saw it coming. He… he didn't make it.'_

Though it was years ago, Hinata could still remember the day that Neji was bounded by the curse mark. Before dinner that night, he removed his bandages to show her, and she remembered gasping—intrigued by the rather strange green pattern on his forehead. She had reached up to touch it—to trace the mark with her finger—but at the very touch, Neji flinched away from her and recoiled in pain. When Hinata looked at him again, the deep ache in his only four-year-old eyes was so horribly clear to her.

She wanted to take it away. She had asked her father when it would disappear, but Hiashi explained that it was like a tattoo; it was there to stay forever. Of course, he had failed to mention a few minor details.

And then from that point on, Hinata watched Neji grow colder and colder. Her smile towards her faded into a deep-set frown, and his once gentle eyes narrowed hard at the very sight of her. His hatred towards her and the rest of the family became so great that he had actually tried killing her during the chuunin exams.

And he had almost succeeded too.

Hinata was unable to _not _forgive Neji after that. For outsiders, Neji was a cold and heartless threat to anyone around, but as his family, Hinata _knew _just how torn up he was inside. She had seen the events that had shaped him into the angry person he was that day. There was just no possible way that she could hate him for what he did to her… but it did make her fear him greatly; more than she had ever imagined.

But things changed, and they grew up. He taught her more than she could have ever learned on her own, and she became stronger through him. The snapped threads that had once held together their relationship began to sew themselves back together. They trained together, conversations at the dinner table came more frequently and friendlier than before, and Neji grew up to be somewhat protective of her. For the first time since they were just little kids, Neji and Hinata were friends again.

When she fell, he'd pause for a moment then offer her a hand to help her back up. Whenever she smiled at him, he would smile back. Likewise, whenever he was hurt, she would heal his wounds, and she stood up for Neji whenever somebody would say something negative about him.

But now… there was nothing Hinata could do to fix this.

Knowing there was nothing else she could do, Hinata clutched Hanabi's shoulder gently, came to her feet, and left the room. There was nothing she could do for her except give her space to think. Neji and Hanabi had always had a very teasing relationship—but they cared for each other nonetheless. It was clear that the youngest Hyuuga did not know how to process the fact that he was gone.

In fact, none of them did. As Hinata was stepping down the hallway, she could faintly hear the sound of hitched breathing. She turned the corner and peered into her father's room—where the door was slightly cracked. It was not hard to see Hiashi on his knees with his body leaned forward—curled around his nephew's headband.

Hinata had to step back at that moment, because the very sight of her father sent the most painful strike to her already fragile heart; she worried that watching the sight any longer would have caused it to break in two. Of anybody in the family, Neji and Hiashi had the most difficult relationship. There had been a lot of anger shared between the two of them in the past, but it was over now. And no matter how angry they had ever been at each other, they were still family. Nothing could ever change that.

Holding her breath, Hinata quietly sauntered down the hallway. The pain in her heart was becoming unbearable, but there was no escaping it—especially when the household was thick with harrowing agony. Going outside to get some fresh air was most likely her best bet, she realized.

But as she stepped onto the porch, and the breeze blew in, she could only whimper while the tears threatened to leak through. No matter where she went, for the rest of her life, she knew the emptiness in her heart would never fully go away. It would have been one thing if it was just Hinata who felt this way, but no; the whole clan was in mourning. The reality of it all made her feel sick to her stomach.

Hinata let out a shaky sigh, suppressing the sob that was stuck in her throat, and moved down the walkway. She wouldn't cry—not now when everybody needed her to be strong. For as long as she could remember, the clan had always been strong for her… and now it had to be the other way around. She could do this. She _had _to do this… for Hanabi and Hiashi… and for Neji.

But just as Hinata turned the corner, things got a little strange. Someone ran straight into her, and for just a moment, she was sure that that person was Neji. In just a flash—a fleeting glimpse—she could have sworn she saw his long brown hair flying by her. She could have _sworn _she saw his pale eyes—wide as she danced out of his way. But it quickly hit Hinata that that was impossible.

Though his presence continued to linger throughout Konoha, Neji was gone. Dead. She would never see her beloved brother ever again, and the very thought was too heartbreaking to handle.

"Hinata…."

The familiar voice was enough to pull her from her thoughts. She almost didn't believe her eyes when she looked up and came face-to-face with Naruto. Nevertheless, even the sight of the boy she loved more than anything wasn't enough to pull her from her grief. She just stared at him—the agony written all over her face and her jaw dropped slightly—as his bright blue eyes searched hers. Just like the others, his grief was overwhelming.

"Naruto…" she whispered back, no faint blush appearing as she spoke his name. "What are you—"

"—I thought I might walk you to the funeral if that was okay," he interrupted gently, rubbing the back of his head almost sheepishly.

And it was there—in front of the person who she wanted to be the strongest for—that she bowed her head, gritted her teeth together, and began to cry. No more than a second later, she felt Naruto wrap his arms around her slender frame. Her sobs wracked her body, causing him to hold her tighter while she continued to fall apart. She just wanted to stay there, wrapped in his warmth, forever. She didn't want to think about how Neji had died. It was all too much to bear. How could she feel sad when she knew that Neji's pain had finally gone away? How could she feel happy when she realized that it meant he would never wake up?

"I'm sorry…" Naruto managed to say, and although his voice sounded firm and stoic, she could feel the teardrops falling onto her neck. "I'm sorry."

Six years ago, things would be different. Naruto would be standing over her, supporting her like he had always done, and she would be facing Neji. She would try to avoid his hard, icy glare, and every word that came out of his mouth would cause her to tremble just a little more. She would not look him directly in the eyes, because she knew he was masking his pain with anger. Behind those cold eyes, he was all torn up inside, and underneath his headband, there was a curse mark that was causing it. Six years ago, Neji would let his pain get the best of him, and he would strike with every intention of killing her.

A long time ago, the memories would give Hinata nightmares… but things were different, and times had changed. Hinata did not fear Neji anymore.

**CHAPTER 2 END.**

**CHAPTER 3 COMING SOON.**


End file.
